By Asma Kundi
ISLAMABAD: Waiting outside the dental clinic for his tooth root canal treatment, Jamshed Khan, 56, was worried about the expensive procedure doctors had advised for him.
Jamshed, a driver by profession, who hardly earns up to Rs40,000 per month — a paltry sum to meet his household expenses — was visiting the dental ward of the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), the largest public sector hospital in the federal capital, with a hope to get rid of his excruciating tooth pain for minimum or no charges. However, his hopes were shattered when he was told to pay Rs2,500 before the procedure was carried out after his medical examination.
Dental treatment and private clinics
The same procedure is even costlier in private clinics, which charge between Rs12,000 and Rs25,000.
“I came with the hope to get free treatment as this is a public sector hospital but they are demanding Rs2,500 for the root canal and a junior doctor does that. They told me that “if I want a senior doctor to do the procedure, he will charge me between Rs6,000 and Rs8,000 based on their seniority,” Jamshed told World Echo News. He said he opted for a junior doctor because he did not have enough money to pay the senior doctor’s fee. He said he had to readjust his monthly budget after paying the doctor’s fee.
“May Allah never make any poor person sick in Pakistan. Should we feed our children, pay their school fee or get treatment for ourselves when the public sector hospital is not free for us,” he lamented. Jamshed lives in a rented two-room house in Bari Imam, a suburban area of Islamabad and has four school-going children.
Jamshed shared that the doctor asked him for capping of his treated tooth, which was not available in the hospital and private clinics it costs between Rs12,000 and Rs25,000 as per the quality. The treated tooth risks damage over time if the capping is not done.
Teeth-shaped dental crowns or “caps” are fitted on the teeth to save them from damage and destruction. It is a snug-fitting cap for the tooth. The crown gives the tooth its original size, shape, strength and look. It is fixed to the tooth with cement and covers the tooth’s visible part.
According to officials at the dental hospital of the PIMS, free treatment was available only for government employees or those with health insurance on their panel.
They said the treatment provided at the hospital was much more affordable than private clinics, which charge up to Rs25,000 for a single root canal procedure. They said that the same treatment costs Rs2,500 at the dental clinic of the PIMS hospital.
